'New York Times' Writes of Ben Smith and BenSmithing

The New York Times and BuzzFeed have some kind of relationship going on, but that still doesn’t explain the long, wet French kiss the Times gave BuzzFeed Politics editor-in-chief Ben Smith yesterday. It’s just a fact that when the left-wing media covers the left-wing media, it’s usually in this way — without criticism or skepticism. Reading this you’d think Smith had never been involved in any kind of scandal or done anything unethical.

I love you more.

No, I love you more.

Incest.

The term invented by Breitbart News does make its New York Times debut, however. “BenSmithing” is now such a part of the language surrounding Smith and his merry band of BenSmithers that they’ve been forced to embrace the pejorative:

What is BenSmithing? To the Republicans who coined the term last year, it refers to writing an article that supposedly tackles a Democratic Party scandal, but is actually intended to dismiss the issue, something they believe Mr. Smith has often done for President Obama.

But to Mr. Smith’s Buzzfeed colleagues, the term has become an absurdist catchall they use to poke fun at their boss. Sometimes BenSmithing is to share dirty pictures over Snapchat. Other times BenSmithing is to dance a clumsy version of the Funky Chicken.

The Urban Dictionary defines “BenSmithing” perfectly. You can even buy the t-shirt.

Let me add that Smith deserves and has earned every bit of his success and fame. No one can take that away from him. He’s a legitimate genius, a born leader, a tireless worker, and very effective. We just wish he would use his powers for good.